User interfaces to facilitate electronic communication

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program, method, and user interfaces to facilitate communication between users via multiple modes of electronic communication. The system displays a conversation view that presents messages exchanged between a first user and at least one other user in an electronic chat conversation. The conversation view includes an interactive element to enable the first user to initiate a video call with the at least one other user. Based on receiving user input corresponding to an interaction with the interactive element, the system initiates the video call with the at least one other user. The system displays an active call view to facilitate the video call with the at least one other user. The system toggles from displaying the active call view to displaying the conversation view in response to further user input.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/679,441, filed Feb. 24, 2022, which application is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/117,998, filed Dec. 10, 2020, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,290,683, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/694,669, filed Nov. 25, 2019, now issuedas U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/904,484, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/135,847, filed Sep. 19, 2018, now issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 10,516,851, each of which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to facilitating electroniccommunication between users. In particular, example embodiments of thepresent disclosure address systems, methods, and user interfaces tofacilitate communication between users via multiple modes of electroniccommunication.

BACKGROUND

Social media applications, such as online chat applications, allow usersto exchange messages with one another. These applications often providea graphical interface from which a user can send and receive text-basedmessages exchanged as part of an electronic conversation with otherusers. Often these applications run on mobile and other electronicdevices that are capable of facilitating other modes of electroniccommunication such as voice or video calling. However, the graphicalinterfaces of these applications typically do not allow users toseamlessly transition from one mode of communication to another.

For many of these types of applications, a user participating in anelectronic chat conversation who wishes to transition a conversationfrom a text-based electronic conversation to another mode ofcommunication (e.g., a video or voice call) typically needs to exit theapplication, and navigate to another application that facilitates theother mode of communication such as a video calling application. Oncethe user has opened the video calling application, the user mustinitiate a video call with each participant of the electronicconversation, who may each have a different name (e.g., a username oraccount name) associated with the video call from the name associatedwith the social media application. As a result, some participants of thechat may be left off of the video call, and other participants maycontinue to exchange text-based messages that may go unseen by thoseparticipating in the video call.

Further, in mobile applications, interfaces provided by typical videocall applications are often not suitable to facilitate video callsbetween more than two users given the limited display size of mostmobile electronic devices. What's more, if a user wishes to return tothe text-based electronic conversation after switching over to a videocall, the user must exit the video call while others may continue toparticipate, and the user must then navigate back to the social mediaapplication to find the chat conversation, which may require furthernavigation between various screens and windows presented by the socialmedia application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element or act is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network,according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data which may be stored in adatabase of a messaging server system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a messagegenerated by a messaging client application for communication, accordingto example embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example access-limitingprocess, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeralmessage, and associated multimedia payload of data) may be time-limited(e.g., made ephemeral), according to example embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6I are interface diagrams illustrating aspects of graphicaluser interfaces (GUIs) provided by the messaging system, according toexample embodiments.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are interface diagrams illustrating additional aspectsof GUIs provided by the messaging system, according to exampleembodiments.

FIGS. 8A-8C are interface diagrams illustrating additional aspects ofGUIs provided by the messaging system, according to example embodiments.

FIGS. 9-12 are flowcharts illustrating operations of the messagingsystem in performing a method for facilitating communication betweenmultiple users via multiple modes of communication, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine able toread instructions from a machine-readable medium (e.g., amachine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, according to example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Description

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide an understanding of variousembodiments of the inventive subject matter. It will be evident,however, to those skilled in the art, that embodiments of the inventivesubject matter may be practiced without these specific details. Ingeneral, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, andtechniques are not necessarily shown in detail.

Aspects of the present disclosure include systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products forfacilitating communication between users via multiple modes ofelectronic communication. To address the shortcomings of conventionalsocial media applications described above, a messaging system isconfigured to facilitate communication via text, voice, and video. Tofacilitate communication via these multiple modes of communication, themessaging system provides an interactive messaging interface thatincludes multiple views, each of which enables communication betweenusers via one or more modes of communication. As used herein, a “view”is a component of a user interface that includes an outputrepresentation of information in a particular format. Each of themultiple views of the interactive messaging interface may presentdifferent information or multiple views may present the same or similarinformation in different formats. Further, each of the multiple viewsmay provide or enable different functionality with respect to themessaging system.

As an example, the messaging interface of the messaging system includesa conversation view that allows users to author, send, and view messagesexchanged as part of an electronic chat conversation between users. Theconversation view includes graphical representations of eachparticipating user (e.g., an avatar). The conversation view also enablesusers to initiate voice and video calls with users participating in thechart conversation.

An active call view of the messaging interface facilitates real-timecommunication between users via a video call. The active call viewpresents streaming video feeds of each user who has accepted the videocall. The manner in which the streaming video feeds are displayed withinthe active call view (e.g., size and configuration) depends on a numberof users participating in the video call and properties of a device onwhich the active call view is presented. In this way, the messagingsystem may provide an improvement over conventional social mediaapplications and their user interfaces by facilitating video callsbetween more than two users despite limited screen sizes of mobiledevices on which such applications are typically run.

The messaging system enables users to toggle between the active callview and the conversation view while a video call is active. During anactive video call, the graphical representations of users who haveaccepted the video call are replaced by streaming video feeds of theusers in the conversation view. By allowing users to toggle between theactive call view and the conversation view, the messaging systemimproves upon conventional social media applications and their userinterfaces by providing an interactive interface that allows users toquickly and easily switch between modes of communication without needingto switch between multiple applications or devices. As an additionalimprovement to conventional social media applications, the userinterface of the messaging system also allows users to simultaneouslyengage in multiple modes of communication with other users withoutneeding to use multiple applications or devices.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, each ofwhich hosts a number of applications including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

Accordingly, each messaging client application 104 is able tocommunicate and exchange data with another messaging client application104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 106. Thedata exchanged between messaging client applications 104, and between amessaging client application 104 and the messaging server system 108,includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video, or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed either by a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality within either the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Thisdata may include message content, client device information, geolocationinformation, media annotation and overlays, message content persistenceconditions, social network information, and live event information, asexamples. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100 are invoked andcontrolled through functions available via user interfaces (UIs) of themessaging client application 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anapplication programming interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

Dealing specifically with the API server 110, this server receives andtransmits message data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between theclient device 102 and the application server 112. Specifically, the APIserver 110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols)that can be called or queried by the messaging client application 104 inorder to invoke functionality of the application server 112. The APIserver 110 exposes various functions supported by the application server112, including account registration; login functionality; the sending ofmessages, via the application server 112, from a particular messagingclient application 104 to another messaging client application 104; thesending of media files (e.g., images or video) from a messaging clientapplication 104 to a messaging server application 114, for possibleaccess by another messaging client application 104; the setting of acollection of media data (e.g., story); the retrieval of suchcollections; the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a clientdevice 102; the retrieval of messages and content; the adding of friendsto and deletion of friends from a social graph; the location of friendswithin a social graph; and opening an application event (e.g., relatingto the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a messaging server application 114 thatimplements a number of message processing technologies and functions.Other processor—and memory-intensive processing of data may also beperformed server-side by the messaging server application 114, in viewof the hardware requirements for such processing.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 204 and anotification system 206. The messaging system 100 also includes amessaging interface 208 that includes a message feed 210, a conversationview 212, and an active call view 214.

The message feed 210 presents indicators of chat conversations in whicha user is a participant. Each chat conversation indicator may beselected to access a conversation view 212 that enables a user toauthor, send, and view messages of the chat conversation. Each messagepresented in the conversation view 212 may be presented with a readindicator that indicates whether the message has been read by thereceiving user. In some instances, upon a message being read by thereceiving user, the read indicator may be replaced with an indicator ofremaining time available for accessing the message. The active call view214 facilitates real-time communication between users via streamingvideo feeds. As such, the active call view 214 includes a display ofstreaming video feeds of users participating in a video call. Furtherdetails regarding the message feed 210, conversation view 212, andactive call view 214 are discussed below.

The ephemeral timer system 204 is responsible for enforcing messagedurations for messages exchanged within the context of the messagingsystem 100. To this end, the ephemeral timer system 204 incorporates anumber of timers that, based on retention duration attributes associatedwith a chat conversation, selectively display and enable access tomessages and associated content via the messaging client application104. Further details regarding the operation of the ephemeral timersystem 204 are provided below.

The notification system 206 is responsible for providing notificationsrelated to the exchange of messages within the context of the messagingsystem 100. The notification system 206 may, for example, providenotifications of newly initiated chat conversations and newly receivedmessages. The notification system 206 may also provide notifications ofincoming voice or video calls. In an example, the notification system206 may cause display of a notification within the message feed 210 ofan incoming call (e.g., voice or video) associated with a chatconversation.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data 300 which may be storedin the database 120 of the messaging server system 108, according tocertain example embodiments. While the content of the database 120 isshown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that thedata 300 could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as anobject-oriented database).

The database 120 includes message data stored within a message table302. An entity table 304 stores entity data, including an entity graph306. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table304 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events, etc. Regardless of type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 306 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization), interested-based, or activity-based, merely for example.

A video table 308 stores video data associated with messages for whichrecords are maintained within the message table 302. Similarly, an imagetable 310 stores image data associated with messages for which messagedata is stored in the message table 302.

A conversation table 312 stores data regarding chat conversations andassociated content (e.g., image, video, or audio data). A record foreach chat conversation may be maintained in the conversation table 312.Each record may include a unique identifier for the chat conversation, aretention duration attribute, identifiers of entities that areparticipants in the chat conversation (or pointers to the identifiers inthe entity table 304), and message data (or pointers to correspondingmessage data in the message table 302).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400,according to some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication 104 for communication to a further messaging clientapplication 104 or the messaging server application 114. The content ofa particular message 400 is used to populate the message table 302stored within the database 120, accessible by the messaging serverapplication 114. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is stored inmemory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102 orthe application server 112. The message 400 is shown to include thefollowing components:

-   -   A message identifier 402: a unique identifier that identifies        the message 400.    -   A message text payload 404: text, to be generated by a user via        a user interface of the client device 102 and that is included        in the message 400.    -   A message image payload 406: image data, captured by a camera        component of the client device 102 or retrieved from memory of        the client device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message video payload 408: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102 and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message audio payload 410: audio data, captured by a        microphone or retrieved from the memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message duration attribute 412: an attribute value indicating,        in seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        400 (e.g., the message image payload 406, message video payload        408, and message audio payload 410) is to be made accessible to        a user via the messaging client application 104 upon accessing        the message 400.    -   A conversation identifier 414: an identifier indicative of the        chat conversation to which the message belongs.    -   A message sender identifier 416: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 on        which the message 400 was generated and from which the message        400 was sent.    -   A message receiver identifier 418: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 to        which the message 400 is addressed.

The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of the message 400may be pointers to locations in tables within which content data valuesare stored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406may be a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table310. Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point todata stored within a video table 308, values stored within theconversation identifier 414 may point to data stored within theconversation table 312, and values stored within the message senderidentifier 416 and the message receiver identifier 418 may point to userrecords stored within an entity table 304.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an access-limiting process500, in terms of which access to content (e.g., a message 502, andassociated multimedia payload of data) may be time-limited (e.g., madeephemeral).

A message 502 is shown to be associated with a message durationparameter 504, the value of which determines an amount of time that themessage 502 will be made accessible by the messaging client application104 upon being read by a receiving user. In one example, the message 502is accessible for 24 hours upon being read by the receiving user.

The message duration parameter 504 (e.g., the value of the messageduration attribute 412) and a read indication 506 are shown to be inputsto a message timer 508, which is responsible for determining the amountof time that the message 502 is made accessible to the participants ofthe chat conversation identified by the message sender identifier 416and the message receiver identifier 418. In particular, the message 502will only be accessible to the relevant users for a time perioddetermined by the value of the message duration parameter 504 after themessage 502 has been read by the relevant receiving user. The timeperiod may be based on a message receipt time. The read indication 506may be triggered by the receiving user accessing the chat conversationin which the message 502 was received, by the receiving user confirmingthat the message 502 has been read, when the message 502 has beendisplayed on a screen for a threshold amount of time, or via any othersuch system for determining that the message 502 has been read.

The message timer 508 is shown to provide output to a more generalizedephemeral timer system 204, which is responsible for the overall timingof display of content (e.g., the message 502) to a receiving user. Whenthe ephemeral timer system 204 determines that the retention durationspecified by the message duration parameter 504 for a particular message502 has expired after receiving the read indication 506, the ephemeraltimer system 204 causes the message 502 to be erased from memory.Further, the ephemeral timer system 204 causes the messaging clientapplication 104 to no longer display an indicium (e.g., an icon ortextual identification) associated with the message 502.

FIGS. 6A-6I are interface diagrams illustrating aspects of GUIs providedby the messaging system 100, according to example embodiments. In thecontext of FIGS. 6A-6I, a group of users (e.g., “Carlos,” “Dana,”“John,” “Alex,” and “Jack”) are engaged in an electronic conversation.FIG. 6A illustrates a conversation view 600 as displayed on the clientdevice 102 of a first user of the group of users (identified as “Me”within the conversation view 600). The conversation view 600 is anexample of the conversation view 212.

The conversation view 600 presents text-based messages exchanged betweenthe group of users as part of the electronic conversation. The firstuser may submit text-based messages to the electronic conversation usinga keyboard 602. Like messages submitted by the other users participatingin the chat, messages submitted by the first user are displayed withinthe conversation view 600 displayed on the client device 102 of thefirst user as well as a conversation view displayed on the devices ofthe other participating users.

As shown, the conversation view 600 displays a graphical representation(e.g., an avatar or a Bitmoji) of each user participating in the chatconversation. The graphical representation of a user is presented inconjunction with an identifier of the user. As an example, a bubbleelement 604 includes a graphical representation of a second user,Carlos, and a bubble element 606 includes a graphical representation ofa third user, Dana.

The conversation view 600 also includes an input bar that includesmultiple interactive elements (e.g., buttons) that allow the first userto switch from communicating with the group of users using thetext-based mode of communication to another mode of communication. Forexample, an interactive element 608 enables the first user to triggerthe messaging system 100 to initiate a voice call with the group ofusers. An interactive element 610 enables the first user to trigger themessaging system 100 to initiate a video call with the group of users.

In response to receiving user input corresponding to a selection of theinteractive element 610, the messaging system 100 initiates a video callwith the group of users participating in the electronic conversation. Asshown in FIG. 6B, the initiating of the video call includes displaying astreaming video feed of the first user within an element 612 included inthe input bar. By displaying the streaming video feed of the first userwithin the conversation view 600 of the first user, the messaging system100 notifies the first user of an outgoing video call. The streamingvideo feed of the first user corresponds to output of a camera that isembedded in or otherwise in communication with the client device 102 ofthe first user. Accordingly, in displaying the streaming video feedwithin the element 612, the messaging system 100 may activate a cameraof the client device 102, and access image data produced thereby. Inother embodiments, the conversation view 600 may also provide a textualnotification of the outgoing video call in addition to displaying thestreaming video feed of the first user within the element 612.

The messaging system 100 may also enable the first user to augment theirstreaming video feed with one or more visual effects. For example, uponreceiving a selection of the element 612, the messaging system 100updates the conversation view 600 by enlarging the display of thestreaming video feed of the first user and providing visual effects forselection by the first user, as shown in FIG. 6C. As shown, in FIG. 6C,a set of visual effects 614 are displayed within the conversation view600 in conjunction with an enlarged streaming video feed of the firstuser, and the streaming video feed of the first user has been augmentedwith a visual effect selected by the first user.

As will be discussed in further detail below, the initiating of thevideo call also includes providing a notification to each of the otherusers in the group of an incoming video call that allows the users toaccept and join the video call. A notification of an incoming call maybe transmitted to and display on respective client devices 102 of eachof the group of users.

As shown in FIG. 6D, in response to detecting an acceptance of the videocall by at least one other user, the messaging system 100 causes displayof an active call view 620 on the client device 102 of the first user.The active call view 620 is an example of the active call view 214.

The active call view 620 comprises a window 622 comprising a streamingvideo feed of the second user, Carlos, and a window 624 comprising astreaming video feed of the third user, Dana. In this example, thestreaming video feeds of the second and third users are displayed withinthe active call view 620 based on detecting an acceptance of the videocall by the second and third users. The active call view 620 alsoincludes the streaming video feed of the first user presented within theelement 612.

Users may continue to exchange text-based messages while the video callis active. For example, as shown in FIG. 6E, the message “Hey” submittedby the first user is displayed overlaid upon the streaming video feedsof the second and third users.

While the video call is active, the first user may also toggle thedisplay from the active call view 620 back to the conversation view 600.For example, as shown in FIG. 6D, the active call view 620 may includean interactive element 626 (e.g., a drop-down caret) that allows thefirst user to access the conversation view 600 from the active call view620. In other embodiments, the first user may provide some other type ofinput such as a touch screen gesture (e.g., a swipe or a double tap) toaccess the conversation view 600 from the active call view 620.

FIG. 6F illustrates a display of the conversation view 600 while thevideo call is active. As mentioned above, the messaging system 100 maycause the conversation view 600 to be displayed based on user input(e.g., selection of the interactive element 626 or touch screengesture). As shown, the conversation view 600 again presents thetext-based messages exchanged between the group of users, but thegraphical representations of the second and third users are replacedwith the streaming video feeds of the second and third users,respectively, based on the second and third users having joined thevideo call that is in an active state. More specifically, the bubbleelement 604 that included the graphical representation of the seconduser has been replaced with a bubble element 628 that includes thestreaming video feed of the second user, and the bubble element 606 thatincluded the graphical representation of the third user has beenreplaced with a bubble element 630 that includes the streaming videofeed of the third user. While the call is in an active state, theconversation view 600 also presents the streaming video feed of thefirst user in the element 612.

While the call is in the active state, other users may accept and jointhe video call. When a user joins the video call while the conversationview 600 is displayed, the messaging system 100 updates the conversationview 600 by replacing a graphical representation of the joining userwith the streaming video feed of the user. For example, FIG. 6Gillustrates streaming video feeds of a fourth user, Alex, and fifthuser, John, within the conversation view 600 in place of graphicalrepresentations of the fourth and fifth users.

While the video call is still active, the first user may again accessthe active call view 620 through interaction with the conversation view600. For example, upon receiving user input indicative of a selection ofan interactive element 632, the messaging system 100 causes display ofthe active call view 620, as shown in FIG. 6H. As shown in FIG. 6H, theactive call view 620 has been updated to include streaming video feedsof the fourth and fifth users. In updating the active call view 620, themessaging system 100 reduces the size of the windows 622 and 624 toallow adequate room to display a window 634 that includes the streamingvideo feed of the fourth user and a window 636 that includes thestreaming video feed of the fifth user.

FIG. 6I illustrates further updates to the active call view 620 based onacceptance of the video call by additional users. As noted above, inupdating the display of the active call view 620 based on additionalusers joining the video call, the messaging system 100 determines a rowconfiguration (e.g., a number of rows and number of windows per row)based on a number of users who have joined the video call, determines astreaming video feed window height for each row based on displayproperties of the client device 102 on which the active call view 620 isdisplayed, and determines a position of each streaming video feed windowbased on an order of acceptance by the users who have joined the videocall. As shown in FIG. 6I, the streaming video feed of any one of theusers participating in the video call may be augmented with one or morevisual effects, and the augmented streaming video feeds may be displayedwithin the active call view 620.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate user status indicators provided by graphicalrepresentations of users. In particular, FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate agraphical representation 702 of a first user, a graphical representation704 of second user, and a graphical representation 706 of a third user.A manner in which each of the graphical representations is presented mayprovide an indicator of a status of the corresponding user. For example,as shown in FIG. 7A, each of the graphical representations 702, 704, and706 is presented in an “expanded mode” in which the graphicalrepresentations 702, 704, and 706 are fully visible and are displayed inconjunction with identifiers of the corresponding users. In this state,the respective graphical representations 702, 704, and 706 may indicatethat the status of the first, second, and third users is “active.”

In comparison, in FIG. 7B the graphical representations 702 and 704 arepresented in a “contracted mode” in which the graphical representations702 and 704 are only partially visible as a portion of each appears tobe obscured by an input bar. In this state, the respective graphicalrepresentations 702 and 704 may indicate that the first and second userare “inactive.” The graphical representation 706 of the third user aspresented in FIG. 7B is simply an indicator of the third user'sinitials, which may indicate that the status of the third user is“away.” The designation of each user's status as “active,” “inactive,”or “away” may be based on whether the user has been inactive withrespect to the messaging system for more than a first or secondthreshold period of time.

FIGS. 8A-8C are interface diagrams illustrating additional aspects ofGUIs provided by the messaging system, according to example embodiments.In particular, FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate various notifications presentedwithin a message feed 800. The message feed 800 is an example of themessage feed 210. As shown, the message feed 800 includes indicators ofongoing chat conversations.

FIG. 8A illustrates an incoming call notification 802 (“Will is calling. . . ”) presented in conjunction with an indicator of a chatconversation. In addition to providing a notification of the incomingcall, the incoming call notification 802 also specifies an identifier ofa user who initiated the call. The incoming call notification 802 mayindicate an incoming voice or video call. FIG. 8B illustrates an activecall notification 804 presented in conjunction with the indicator of thechat conversation. In addition to providing a notification that a callis active, the active call notification 804 also specifies identifiersof users who have joined the call. FIG. 8C illustrates a calltermination notification 806 presented in conjunction with the indicatorof the chat conversation.

FIGS. 9-12 are flowcharts illustrating operations of the messagingsystem in performing a method 900 for facilitating communication betweenmultiple users via multiple modes of communication, according to exampleembodiments. The method 900 may be embodied in computer-readableinstructions for execution by one or more processors such that theoperations of the method 900 may be performed in part or in whole by thefunctional components of the messaging system 100; accordingly, themethod 900 is described below by way of example with reference thereto.However, it shall be appreciated that at least some of the operations ofthe method 900 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsthan the messaging system 100.

At operation 905, the messaging system 100 causes display of theconversation view 212 (e.g., the conversation view 600) on a display ofa client device 102 associated with a first user. The conversation view212 presents messages exchanged between the first user and at least oneother user in an electronic chat conversation. The conversation view 212comprises a first interactive element (e.g., a button) to enable thefirst user to trigger initiation of a video call with the at least oneother user participating in the chat conversation.

The conversation view 212 may also include a graphical representation(e.g., an avatar) of one or more users participating in the electronicchat conversation. For example, a graphical representation of a seconduser may be presented within a graphical element presented within theconversation view 212 such as a bubble element. The graphicalrepresentation of the second user may be presented in conjunction withan identifier (e.g., name, user name, or account name) of the seconduser. As discussed in further detail above with reference to FIGS. 7Aand 7B, the graphical representation of the second user may provide anindication of a status of the second user (e.g., active, inactive, oraway).

At operation 910, the messaging system 100 receives a first user inputcorresponding to an interaction with the first interactive element thatenables the first user to initiate the video call with the at least oneother user participating in the chat conversation. For example, themessaging system 100 may receive user input indicative of a selection ofa button that enables the first user to initiate the video call.

At operation 915, the messaging system 100 initiates the video callbetween the first user and the at least one other user. The initiatingof the video call may include providing a notification of an incomingcall to the at least one other user participating in the chatconversation. A notification of the incoming call may also allow a userto accept or deny the incoming video call. Further details regarding theinitiating of the video call between the first user and the at least oneother user are discussed below in reference to FIG. 10 .

At operation 920, the messaging system 100 causes display of an activecall view 214 (e.g., the active call view 620) on the client device 102of the first user to facilitate the video call between the first userand the at least one other user. The messaging system 100 may causedisplay of the active call view 214 on the client device 102 of thefirst user in response to detecting acceptance of the video call by asecond user (e.g., based on receiving input indicative of an interactionof the second user with an interactive element that allows the seconduser to accept the video call).

The video call allows the first user to communicate with one or moreothers in real time. The messaging system 100 facilitates the video callby obtaining audio-video signals produced by client devices 102 of theother users and transmitting these audio-video signals to the clientdevice 102 of the first user. Accordingly, the active call view 214includes a streaming video feed of each user who accepts the video callalong with a streaming video feed of the first user. For example, theactive call view 214 may include a streaming video feed of a second userbased on an acceptance of the video call by the second user.

The displaying of the active call view 214 may include determining a rowconfiguration based on a number of participants in the video call. Therow configuration specifies a number of rows and a number of streamingvideo feeds for each row. The messaging system 100 may determine aposition of each streaming video feed within the active call view 214based on the order in which users accept the video call. Each user'sstreaming video feed is presented within a streaming video feed windowwithin the active call view 214, and the displaying of the active callview 214 may further include determining a height of each streamingvideo feed window based on display properties (e.g., aspect ratio orscreen size) of the client device 102 of the first user. In someembodiments, the messaging system 100 determines the height of eachstreaming video feed window on a per row basis, meaning that streamingvideo feed windows in the same row may be the same size.

At operation 925, the messaging system 100 receives a second user inputcorresponding to a request to toggle from displaying the active callview 214 to the conversation view 212. For example, the active call view214 may include a second interactive element (e.g., a drop-down carat)that enables the first user to toggle from displaying the active callview 214 to the conversation view 212. In another example, the seconduser input may include a gesture (e.g., a touch screen gesture such as aswipe) that is indicative of the request to toggle from displaying theactive call view 214 to the conversation view 212.

At operation 930, the messaging system 100 toggles from the display ofthe active call view 214 to the display of the conversation view 212while the video call is in an active state based on receiving the seconduser input. While the video call is active, streaming video feeds ofusers who have accepted the video call are presented in place of thegraphical representations of users within the conversation view 212. Forexample, the graphical representation of a second user previouslypresented within the conversation view 212 may be replaced within astreaming video feed of the second user while the video call is active,assuming that the second user has accepted the video call.

In toggling from the display of the active call view 214 to the displayof the conversation view 212, the messaging system 100 may cause displayof an animation of a transition of a streaming video feed of a seconduser from being displayed in a first interface element within the activecall view 214 to being displayed in a second interface element withinthe conversation view 212. For example, the messaging system 100 maycause the client device 102 to display an animation of a transition ofthe streaming video feed of a second user from being displayed within astreaming video feed window within the active call view 214 to beingdisplayed in a bubble element in the conversation view 212 in place ofthe graphical representation of the second user.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the method 900 may further include operations1005, 1010, 1015, and 1020, in some embodiments. Consistent with theseembodiments, the operations 1005, 1010, 1015, and 1020 may be performedas part of the operation 915, where the messaging system 100 initiatesthe video call.

At operation 1005, the messaging system 100 causes display of anindication of an outgoing video call within the conversation view 212presented on the client device 102 of the first user. The indication mayinclude a textual indication of the outgoing video call.

At operation 1010, the messaging system 100 causes display of astreaming video feed of the first user within the conversation view 212(e.g., as shown in FIG. 6B). The streaming video feed of the first usermay, for example, be presented within or in conjunction with an inputbar that enables the first user to author and submit messages as part ofthe chat conversation.

At operation 1015, the messaging system 100 enables the first user toaugment his or her streaming video feed with one or more visual effects.For example, upon receiving input indicative of a user selection of thestreaming video feed of the first user, the messaging system 100 mayenlarge the display of the streaming video feed of the first user withinthe conversation view 212 and present the first user with one or morevisual effects for selection (e.g., as shown in FIG. 6C).

Upon receiving a selection of one of the visual effects, the messagingsystem 100 augments the streaming video feed of the first user inaccordance with the selected visual effect, at operation 1020 (e.g., asshown in FIG. 6C). The augmented streaming video feed of the first usermay then be presented by the messaging system 100 to a second userparticipating in the chat conversation upon the messaging system 100detecting acceptance of the video call by the second user.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the method 900 may further include operations1105, 1110, 1115, and 1120, in some embodiments. The operation 1105 maybe performed as part of the operation 915, where the messaging system100 initiates the video call. At operation 1105, the messaging system100 provides a notification of an incoming call to each userparticipating in the chat conversation. For example, the messagingsystem 100 may cause a notification of the incoming call to be displayedin conjunction with an indicator of the chat conversation presented in amessage feed 210 presented on a client device 102 of a second user(e.g., as shown in FIG. 8A). In another example, the messaging system100 may cause the notification of the incoming call to be displayedwithin a conversation view 212 presented on the client device 102 of thesecond user. In some embodiments, the providing of the notification ofthe incoming call comprises causing an animation of a graphicalrepresentation of the first user within a conversation view 212presented on the client device 102 of the second user. The animationmay, for example, include the graphical representation of the first userperforming an action that signals an incoming call such as the graphicalrepresentation of the first user holding or otherwise using a telephone.

The notification of the incoming call may also allow the second user toaccept or deny the incoming video call. For example, in instances inwhich the notification is displayed within the message feed 210 of thesecond user, the second user may accept the video call by accessing thechat conversation through selection of the corresponding indicator ofthe chat conversation. As another example, in instances in which thenotification is displayed within the conversation view 212 of the seconduser, the notification may include interactive elements (e.g., buttons)that enable the user to either accept or decline the video call (e.g.,by selecting the corresponding button).

Consistent with these embodiments, the operation 1110 may be performedsubsequent to the operation 915, where the messaging system 100initiates the video call. At operation 1110, the messaging system 100detects acceptance of the video call by the second user. For example,the messaging system 100 may receive user input indicative of aninteraction of the second user with an interactive element included inthe notification of the incoming call that allows the second user toaccept the video call. As noted above, the messaging system 100 maycause display of the active call view 214 in response to detectingacceptance of the video call by the second user.

As shown, the operations 1115 and 1120 may be performed subsequent tooperation 920, where the messaging system 100 causes display of theactive call view 214 based on detecting acceptance of the video call byat least the second user. At operation 1115, the messaging system 100detects acceptance of the video call by one or more additional users.For example, the messaging system 100 may receive user input indicativeof an acceptance of the video call by the one or more additional users(e.g., a user interaction with an interactive element included in anotification of the incoming call).

At operation 1120, the messaging system 100 updates the display of theactive call view 214 based on detecting acceptance of the video call bythe one or more additional users. The messaging system 100 may updatethe display of the active call view 214 to include one or more streamingvideo feeds corresponding to the one or more additional users. Themessaging system 100 may further update the display of the active callview 214 by reducing a size of the streaming video feed window thatdisplays the streaming video feed of the second user. Further detailsregarding the updating of the display of the active call view 214 arediscussed below in reference to FIG. 12 .

As shown in FIG. 12 , the method 900 may, in some embodiments, includeoperations 1205, 1210, and 1215. The operations 1205, 1210, and 1215 maybe performed as part of the operation 1120 where the messaging system100 updates the display of the active call view 214.

At operation 1205, the messaging system 100 determines a rowconfiguration for the active call view 214 based on a number ofparticipants in the video call. The row configuration specifies a numberof rows and a number of streaming video feeds for each row. Themessaging system 100 may determine the row configuration via a weightedaverage calculation. More specifically, the messaging system 100 maydetermine a plurality of candidate row configurations (e.g., everypossible row configuration assuming a uniform streaming video feedwindow size). For example, in an active call view 214 with fourstreaming video feed windows (e.g., a video call between a first userand four other participants) the possible configurations are one row offour; one row of three and one row of one; two rows of two; two rows ofone and one row of two; and four rows of one. The messaging system 100may compute a weighted average score for each candidate rowconfiguration based on individual streaming video feed window areas andaspect ratios. The messaging system 100 selects the candidate rowconfiguration with the lowest weighted average score as the rowconfiguration.

At operation 1210, the messaging system 100 determines a height ofstreaming video feed windows in each row based on display properties(e.g., screen size) of the client device 102 of the first user. Themessaging system 100 may determine the height of streaming video feedwindows in each row such that the overall weighted score for the rowconfiguration is minimized. For example, the messaging system 100 mayfind the row heights that result in the lowest minimum overall weightedscore by varying the height of each row while ensuring that the sumequals the screen height. In determining the height of streaming videofeed windows in each row, the messaging system 100 may treat rows withthe same number of streaming video feed windows the same. For example,if there is a row configuration in which there are two rows each havingtwo streaming video feed windows, the two rows will be the same height.

At operation 1215, the messaging system 100 determines a position ofeach streaming video feed window within the active call view 214 basedon the order in which users accept the video call. For example, themessaging system 100 may position streaming video feed windows from leftto right then top to bottom starting with the streaming video feedwindow corresponding to the most recently joined user.

Software Architecture

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture1306, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 13 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture, and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 1306 may execute on hardwaresuch as a machine 1400 of FIG. 14 that includes, among other things,processors 1404, memory/storage 1406, and I/O components 1418. Arepresentative hardware layer 1352 is illustrated and can represent, forexample, the machine 1400 of FIG. 14 . The representative hardware layer1352 includes a processing unit 1354 having associated executableinstructions 1304. The executable instructions 1304 represent theexecutable instructions of the software architecture 1306, includingimplementation of the methods, components, and so forth describedherein. The hardware layer 1352 also includes memory and/or storagemodules 1356, which also have the executable instructions 1304. Thehardware layer 1352 may also comprise other hardware 1358.

In the example architecture of FIG. 13 , the software architecture 1306may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 1306may include layers such as an operating system 1302, libraries 1320,frameworks/middleware 1318, applications 1316, and a presentation layer1314. Operationally, the applications 1316 and/or other componentswithin the layers may invoke application programming interface (API)calls 1308 through the software stack and receive a response to the APIcalls 1308 as messages 1313. The layers illustrated are representativein nature and not all software architectures have all layers. Forexample, some mobile or special-purpose operating systems may notprovide a frameworks/middleware 1318, while others may provide such alayer. Other software architectures may include additional or differentlayers.

The operating system 1302 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 1302 may include, for example, akernel 1322, services 1324, and drivers 1326. The kernel 1322 may act asan abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1322 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1324 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1326are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1326 include display drivers, cameradrivers, Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communicationdrivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers,audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 1320 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 1316 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries1320 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than by interfacing directly with theunderlying operating system 1302 functionality (e.g., kernel 1322,services 1324, and/or drivers 1326). The libraries 1320 may includesystem libraries 1344 (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 1320 may include API libraries 1346 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia formats such as MPEG4, H.2134, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG),graphics libraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render2D and 3D graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g.,SQLite that may provide various relational database functions), weblibraries (e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality),and the like. The libraries 1320 may also include a wide variety ofother libraries 1348 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1316and other software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 1318 provide a higher-level commoninfrastructure that may be used by the applications 1316 and/or othersoftware components/modules. For example, the frameworks/middleware 1318may provide various graphic user interface (GUI) functions, high-levelresource management, high-level location services, and so forth. Theframeworks/middleware 1318 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIsthat may be utilized by the applications 1316 and/or other softwarecomponents/modules, some of which may be specific to a particularoperating system 1302 or platform.

The applications 1316 include built-in applications 1338 and/orthird-party applications 1340. Examples of representative built-inapplications 1338 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. The third-party applications 1340 may includean application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 1340 may invoke the API calls 1308 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as the operating system 1302) tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 1316 may use built-in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 1322, services 1324, and/or drivers 1326), libraries 1320, andframeworks/middleware 1318 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such asthe presentation layer 1314. In these systems, the application/component“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1400,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 14 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1400 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1410 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1400 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such,the instructions 1410 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 1410 transform the general,non-programmed machine 1400 into a particular machine 1400 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1400 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 1400 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 1400 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 1410, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by the machine 1400. Further, while only a single machine 1400 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 1410 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 1400 may include processors 1404, memory/storage 1406, andI/O components 1418, which may be configured to communicate with eachother such as via a bus 1402. In an example embodiment, the processors1404 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC)processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aradio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or anysuitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1408and a processor 1412 that may execute the instructions 1410. AlthoughFIG. 14 shows multiple processors, the machine 1400 may include a singleprocessor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores(e.g., a multi-core processor), multiple processors with a single core,multiple processors with multiple cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory/storage 1406 may include a memory 1414, such as a mainmemory, or other memory storage, and a storage unit 1416, bothaccessible to the processors 1404 such as via the bus 1402. The storageunit 1416 and memory 1414 store the instructions 1410 embodying any oneor more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1410 may also reside, completely or partially, within thememory 1414, within the storage unit 1416, within at least one of theprocessors 1404 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine1400. Accordingly, the memory 1414, the storage unit 1416, and thememory of the processors 1404 are examples of machine-readable media.

The I/O components 1418 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1418 that are included in a particular machine 1400 willdepend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such asmobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 1418 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 14 . The I/O components 1418 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion, and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1418may include output components 1426 and input components 1428. The outputcomponents 1426 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1428 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1418 may includebiometric components 1430, motion components 1434, environmentcomponents 1436, or position components 1438, among a wide array ofother components. For example, the biometric components 1430 may includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram-basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1434 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environment components 1436 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gassensors to detect concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or tomeasure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that mayprovide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to asurrounding physical environment. The position components 1438 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a Global Positioning System(GPS) receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimetersor barometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may bederived), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and thelike.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1418 may include communication components 1440operable to couple the machine 1400 to a network 1432 or devices 1420via a coupling 1424 and a coupling 1422, respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1440 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1432. In furtherexamples, the communication components 1440 may include wiredcommunication components, wireless communication components, cellularcommunication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components,Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components,and other communication components to provide communication via othermodalities. The devices 1420 may be another machine or any of a widevariety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via aUniversal Serial Bus (USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 1440 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1440 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF4114, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1440, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting an NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Glossary

“CARRIER SIGNAL” in this context refers to any intangible medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bya machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals orother intangible media to facilitate communication of such instructions.Instructions may be transmitted or received over a network using atransmission medium via a network interface device and using any one ofa number of well-known transfer protocols.

“CLIENT DEVICE” in this context refers to any machine that interfaces toa communications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistant (PDA), smart phone, tablet, ultra book, netbook, laptop,multi-processor system, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics system, game console, set-top box, or any othercommunication device that a user may use to access a network.

“COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK” in this context refers to one or more portionsof a network that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, avirtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wirelessLAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of theInternet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), aplain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephonenetwork, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network,or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network ora portion of a network may include a wireless or cellular network, andthe coupling to the network may be a Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)connection, or another type of cellular or wireless coupling. In thisexample, the coupling may implement any of a variety of types of datatransfer technology, such as Single Carrier Radio TransmissionTechnology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long-TermEvolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard-settingorganizations, other long-range protocols, or other data transfertechnology.

“EPHEMERAL MESSAGE” in this context refers to a message that isaccessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be atext, an image, a video, and the like. The access time for the ephemeralmessage may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access timemay be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient.Regardless of the setting technique, the message is transitory.

“MACHINE-READABLE MEDIUM” in this context refers to a component, device,or other tangible medium able to store instructions and data temporarilyor permanently, and may include, but is not limited to, random-accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory,optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types of storage(e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM)), and/or anysuitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media,that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by amachine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readablemedium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as“cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiplestorage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium”excludes signals per se.

“COMPONENT” in this context refers to a device, a physical entity, orlogic having boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branchpoints, application programming interfaces (APIs), or other technologiesthat provide for the partitioning or modularization of particularprocessing or control functions. Components may be combined via theirinterfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. Acomponent may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for usewith other components and a part of a program that usually performs aparticular function of related functions. Components may constituteeither software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readablemedium) or hardware components.

A “hardware component” is a tangible unit capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain physicalmanner. In various example embodiments, one or more computer systems(e.g., a standalone computer system, a client computer system, or aserver computer system) or one or more hardware components of a computersystem (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured bysoftware (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardwarecomponent that operates to perform certain operations as describedherein. A hardware component may also be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware component may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations. A hardwarecomponent may be a special-purpose processor, such as afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may also includeprogrammable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured bysoftware to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor.

Once configured by such software, hardware components become specificmachines (or specific components of a machine) uniquely tailored toperform the configured functions and are no longer general-purposeprocessors. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement ahardware component mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configuredcircuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured bysoftware) may be driven by cost and time considerations. Accordingly,the phrase “hardware component” (or “hardware-implemented component”)should be understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entitythat is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g.,hardwired), or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in acertain manner or to perform certain operations described herein.

Considering embodiments in which hardware components are temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed), each of the hardware components need notbe configured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example,where a hardware component comprises a general-purpose processorconfigured by software to become a special-purpose processor, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respectively differentspecial-purpose processors (e.g., comprising different hardwarecomponents) at different times. Software accordingly configures aparticular processor or processors, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware component at one instance of time and to constitutea different hardware component at a different instance of time.

Hardware components can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware components. Accordingly, the described hardwarecomponents may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Wheremultiple hardware components exist contemporaneously, communications maybe achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) between or among two or more of the hardware components. Inembodiments in which multiple hardware components are configured orinstantiated at different times, communications between such hardwarecomponents may be achieved, for example, through the storage andretrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiplehardware components have access. For example, one hardware component mayperform an operation and store the output of that operation in a memorydevice to which it is communicatively coupled. A further hardwarecomponent may then, at a later time, access the memory device toretrieve and process the stored output. Hardware components may alsoinitiate communications with input or output devices, and can operate ona resource (e.g., a collection of information).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components.

Moreover, the one or more processors may also operate to supportperformance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing”environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, atleast some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers(as examples of machines including processors), with these operationsbeing accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or moreappropriate interfaces (e.g., an application programming interface(API)). The performance of certain of the operations may be distributedamong the processors, not only residing within a single machine, butdeployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, theprocessors or processor-implemented components may be located in asingle geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an officeenvironment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, theprocessors or processor-implemented components may be distributed acrossa number of geographic locations.

“PROCESSOR” in this context refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (aphysical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor)that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands,” “op codes,” “machine code,” etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. Aprocessor may, for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aReduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit(GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application-SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC),or any combination thereof. A processor may further be a multi-coreprocessor having two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously.

“TIMESTAMP” in this context refers to a sequence of characters orencoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, forexample giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a smallfraction of a second.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: causing, by one or morehardware processors, display, on a client device associated with a firstuser, of an active call view to facilitate a video call between thefirst user and at least one other user, the active call view comprisinga real-time streaming video feed of a second user; and based onreceiving a input indicative of a request from the first user to togglefrom displaying the active call view to displaying a conversation view,causing the client device to switch from displaying the active call viewto displaying the conversation view while the video call remains in anactive state, the conversation view, while the video call remains in theactive state, comprising a presentation of one or more messagesexchanged between the first user and the second user in an electronicchat conversation, the active call view being distinct from theconversation view.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:detecting an acceptance of the video call by a third user; and inresponse to detecting the acceptance of the video call by the thirduser, updating the active call view to display a real-time streamingvideo feed of the third user.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theupdating of the active call view comprises determining a rowconfiguration for the active call view based on a number of participantsin the video call, the row configuration specifying a number of rows anda number of streaming video feeds for each row.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein the updating of the active call view comprises determining astreaming video feed window height of each row based on one or moredisplay properties of the client device.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the updating of the active call view comprises changing a sizeof the streaming video feed of the second user in the active call viewbased on the streaming video feed window height.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein: the client device is a first client device; and the methodfurther comprises initiating the video call with the at least one otheruser by causing a second client device associated with the second userto display a notification of an incoming video call.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the notification of the incoming video call ispresented within a message feed comprising one or more indicators ofelectronic chat conversations in which the second user is a participant.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing display, within theactive call view, of a text-based message overlaid on the real-timestreaming video feed of the second user.
 9. A system comprising: one ormore processors of a server; and at least one computer-readable memorycoupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the server to performoperations comprising: causing display, on a client device associatedwith a first user, of an active call view to facilitate a video callbetween the first user and at least one other user, the active call viewcomprising a real-time streaming video feed of at least a second user;and based on receiving a input indicative of a request from the firstuser to toggle from displaying the active call view to displaying aconversation view, causing the client device to switch from displayingthe active call view to displaying the conversation view while the videocall remains in an active state, the conversation view, while the videocall remains in the active state, comprising a presentation of one ormore messages exchanged between the first user and the second user in anelectronic chat conversation, the active call view being distinct fromthe conversation view.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: detecting an acceptance of the video call by a thirduser; and in response to detecting the acceptance of the video call bythe third user, updating the active call view to display a real-timestreaming video feed of the third user.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the updating of the active call view comprises determining a rowconfiguration for the active call view based on a number of participantsin the video call, the row configuration specifying a number of rows anda number of streaming video feeds for each row.
 12. The system of claim10, wherein the updating of the active call view comprises determining astreaming video feed window height of each row based on one or moredisplay properties of the client device, wherein the streaming videofeed window height of the real-time streaming video feed of the seconduser is based on the determined streaming video feed window height ofeach row.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the updating of the activecall view further comprises changing a size of the streaming video feedof the second user in the active call view based on the determinedstreaming video feed window height.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein:the client device is a first client device; and the operations furthercomprise initiating the video call with the at least one other user bycausing a second client device associated with the second user todisplay a notification of an incoming video call.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the notification of the incoming video call ispresented within a message feed comprising one or more indicators ofelectronic chat conversations in which the second user is a participant.16. The system of claim 9, further comprising causing display, withinthe active call view, of a text-based message overlaid on the real-timestreaming video feed of the second user.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by acomputer system, cause the computer system to perform operationscomprising: causing, by one or more hardware processors, display, on aclient device associated with a first user, of an active call view tofacilitate a video call between the first user and at least one otheruser, the active call view comprising a real-time streaming video feedof at least a second user; and based on receiving a input indicative ofa request from the first user to toggle from displaying the active callview to displaying a conversation view, causing the client device toswitch from displaying the active call view to displaying theconversation view while the video call remains in an active state, theconversation view, while the video call remains in the active state,comprising a presentation of one or more messages exchanged between thefirst user and the second user in an electronic chat conversation, theactive call view being distinct from the conversation view.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein theoperations further comprise: detecting an acceptance of the video callby a third user; and in response to detecting the acceptance of thevideo call by the third user, updating the active call view to display areal-time streaming video feed of the third user.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the updating of the activecall view further comprises determining a row configuration for theactive call view based on a number of participants in the video call,the row configuration specifying a number of rows and a number ofstreaming video feeds for each row.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the updating of the activecall view comprises: determining a streaming video feed window height ofeach row based on one or more display properties of the client device,wherein the streaming video feed window height of the real-timestreaming video feed of the second user is based on the determinedstreaming video feed window height of each row; and changing a size ofthe streaming video feed of the second user in the active call viewbased on the determined streaming video feed window height.